16 Weeks Along!

8 weeks pregnant

When we got married in November, we knew we wanted to start having a family pretty quickly. Thankfully, God seems to be agreeing with us on things, and it's hard to believe we're already almost 16 weeks along! Baby Bean is the size of an avocado this week, which provoked a guacamole craving from Benjamin, but it's exciting to feel flutters every once in a while and start feeling like I look pregnant and not just food happy. ;) 

Bean at 13 weeks- a thumb sucker already!

 

We find out on Wed. May 15th if Bean is actually Ellie Cathleen or Graham Matthew... Ben and I both are undecided at this point. For the longest time I was convinced it's a boy, but the more home gender prediction tests we do and ultrasounds we see, the more I start wondering if it's a little girl. Ben's response to his prediction is that he's "50/50". ;) Big help. All joking aside, neither of us care one way or the other, we just want our little guy/gal to be healthy. (Though I'm sure we'll be crossing our fingers next time for the other gender!)

Life around the house has been busy as usual. Our bunnies under the deck and shed seem to be as fertile as we are, and that keeps Calvin entertained. Sadly, he's a little too good at catching said bunnies and so Ben is quickly becoming an expert and cleaning up the mess without his tummy sensitive wife seeing the bloodshed. In an attempt to get the bunnies to move somewhere else, Ben spent Monday putting up a "trim" of sorts around the edge of the deck and shed so that there isn't any room for them to get under. As of Wednesday there are baby bunnies small enough to still get under, so I think we're going to have to do a little more adjusting before this master plan is completely effective. Calvin will be disappointed, but I will have much relief not having to worry about being pregnant and trying to get Calvin out from climbing under the deck after chasing & following the bunnies. (This happened last summer and I had several meltdowns when I couldn't get him out and had to dig tunnels while laying on my stomach in the yard.) 

The dogs are very thankful for the sunshine and warmer temps lately. That has left me with no excuse to get out and do our 1 or 2 daily walks around our neighborhood. The 1-2 miles each time is good exercise for Bean and I and most of our furry crew put on a few pounds over winter, so it's certainly helping them slim down too. Jackson is quite the creature of habit though, so it's hard for him to comprehend when it's raining too hard for us to go out on our W-A-L-K. We're ready for summer! 

Speaking of exercise.. Ben has been taking CrossFit for a few weeks now. I think it's been a good challenge for him; he's learning exercises he's never done before and challenging new muscles. I'm finally feeling well enough that I'm back at the gym too. Swimming is my exercise of choice these days since I still get over-heated quickly which can turn me into a mess. Plus swimming gives my back some much needed relief from this growing belly. Thankfully, my running partner Mary, has been giving up one night a week from her mini marathon training to swim with me. I appreciate the companionship and support, and love having a sounding board to talk about all of these changes with someone who is a new mom too.

In anticipation of Bean's arrival, we purchased a mini van a month or so ago. The reaction by friends has been comical to say the least. Ben and I didn't talk about it much to friends before the day we purchased the vehicle, so most thought we made the decision and purchased the car in the same day. ;) They clearly weren't thinking about the people making these decisions (us) because Ben and I are big time planners, and that kind of spontaneity isn't how we roll. After weeks of searching online and visiting dealerships in our free time, we found our Honda Odyssey in Cincinnati. It has all the bells and whistles we were hoping for in anticipation of our growing crew of Hollis children. The van boasts a DVD player, power everything, and leather seats...now to get my iPod/Phone hookup installed so I'm not stuck with CDs and the radio. (I'm spoiled, I know...)

I've decided on the baby room color scheme even though we don't know the gender. I think it's not specific, so I'm anxious to start putting the pieces together. We picked out a pretty light gray for the walls and the furniture will be white (our crib came already by the way! super cute!) and we're doing turquoise accents. I'm hoping to do some garage sale shopping this summer and find a nice dresser for cheap that I can paint and dress up. 

Not much else to report at this time. Life is good and we are beyond blessed! Hope everyone is staying dry and safe...what a week our country has had! I'm off school today due to flooding in Boone County, so I'm hoping to take advantage of some free time to get caught up on stuff (like this!).

Love you all!

 S&B and Bean